Rate of lung infections in Indigenous children in Mount Isa one of the worst in the world: study

By Kate Stephens
Mon 2 Jun 2014, 2:22 PM AEST

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A new study has found the rate of lung infections in Indigenous children in Mount Isa is among the worst in the world.

ABC News

Indigenous children in Mount Isa have recorded some of the highest rates of lung infections in the world, a report has found.

The author of a study looking at respiratory issues in the town's children said figures showed the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children was growing.

Between 2007 and 2011, of the 276 children admitted to Mount Isa Hospital with an acute lower respiratory tract infection, 77 per cent were Indigenous.

The results have been published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.

Lead author Dr Elisabeth Janu, from the University of Western Sydney, said the figures also showed multiple admissions during the period.

"One child was admitted six times for pneumonia, two were admitted four times, one was admitted three times, and 17 were admitted twice," Dr Janu said.

She said overall rates were climbing.

"The trajectory was definitely increasing at that time and it probably would continue to," she said.

Dr Janu said while it was not clear why more Indigenous children suffered from the infections, high smoking rates and low vaccination take-up was a problem.

"It could be due to prematurity and intra-uterine growth restrictions at a young age [and] it could be due to things like cigarette exposure or overcrowded living conditions or poor hygiene," she said.

"Vaccination rates are sometimes lower in Indigenous children than in non-Indigenous children."

She said the figures were comparable to the Northern Territory, which is also among the worst in the world.